RIP Ray Svenson

I met Ray Svenson my 2nd week on the job at MTEC – Motorola’s Training & Education Center (that a few years later became Motorola University – where Six Sigma evolved from a training course) back in April 1981.

Ray was 3rd in a series of ISD gurus brought to MTEC, a new organization, by Bill Wiggenhorn, our director. The first two gurus were Geary Rummler and Neil Rackham. Ray was doing Strategic Planning for Bill and MTEC – and oriented the new MTEC staff to that – and his concept of Curriculum Architecture. I adapted his ideas in a project initially titled: The ABCs of Supervision for manufacturing, materials and purchasing audiences (my foci at MTEC). That project evolved into the first Quality Training for those audiences (1981) – and was the project that brought the reading skills deficit of those audiences to Motorola’s management’s attention – leading to a cooperative effort with many local community colleges to address that and other basic, incoming skills deficits needs of the company and its workforce.

18 months later I left MTEC and joined Ray’s 3-person consulting organization – and began an expansion in our product offerings: ISD services. Especially CAD – Curriculum Architecture Design – which became my specialty at R. A. Svenson & Associates. A few years later I became his formal business partner as we expanded the organization and grew to just over 20 staff members.

I have written about Ray as one of my many mentors – here – and he truly is in the top 3 of influencers on my professional development, along with Rummler and Rackham.

Co-Authors

Ray and I were co-authors on two books:

In 1994 we wrote The Quality Roadmap.

And from 2007 we wrote Performance-based Employee Qualification/Certification Systems…

And he was the instigator of my formalization of the processes and products of Curriculum Architecture – that eventually became the basis for my 1999 lean-ISD book.

Note – two of the above books is available as a free PDF. See the resource tab for that.

Ray told me in May that he wanted me to share some of his materials.

I guess I’ll be doing that over the next few years.

Thanks Ray

RIP Ray.

Thank you for everything you did for me.

Note: I’ll be editing this post over the next few weeks and months – but now my focus is in getting to Montana for the services this Monday.

FYI – From Ray’s Wife

Details for Ray’s Celebration Service
By Pat Ruzich

We are having a service to celebrate Ray’s life on Monday, September 21st, at 4 p.m. at St. Agnes Church, 1 Word Avenue, North, Red Lodge, MT, 59068.

Following the service there will be a potluck dinner. All are welcome. Please bring an entrée, side dish or salad. Dessert, coffee, and water will be provided.

Ray has asked that in lieu of flowers contributions be made to the Congo Animal Traction Initiative. This is a program that Ray’s daughter Kris is deeply involved in that teaches people in the Congo to plow and farm using oxen in order to increase their production of food and help to combat hunger. Checks can be mailed to: Congo Animal Traction Initiative, c/o Monty Buhro, 8701 W. Bedford Euless Road, Hurst, TX, 76053.

Please indicate that the contribution is in memory of Ray Svenson on the memo line.

Whether you can attend or not, your love and support is greatly appreciated.

Guy has served 80+ clients including over 45 F500 firms since November 1982.

Recipient of the ISPI - the International Society for Performance Improvement - Honorary Life Member Award - 2010 - for contributions to the Society and to the Technology for Performance Improvement (PI).

Founding member of ASQ’s Influential Voices Initiative - 2010. Served through 2015.

Guy W. Wallace collaborates with his Clients using predictable, visible, proven processes on time and on budget.

Client work won awards for AT&T, General Motors, HP and Siemens Building Technologies.

Guy's 40 years in the performance improvement/ training/ learning business have been focused in 2 key areas:

1- analysis of the organization and its business processes to derive the "Learning Requirements" from the "Performance Requirements" and...

2- design/architecting the configuration of instructional and informational content.

Guy conducts Performance Improvement projects, Curriculum Architecture Design projects, Instructional Design/Development projects, and he both formally and informally develops and coaches client staff in his ISD and Performance Improvement methods, processes, and in the use of his tools and techniques.

You Go Down The Learning Path to Go Up The Learning Curve – to go Up the Performance Competence Curve

Guy has been doing performance-based Training Paths and Planning Guides for clients since 1982. First published on Curriculum Architecture in Training Magazine in September 1984 and on the Analysis methods in NSPI's (now ISPI) PIJ in November 1984.

In PACT – Even the APPOs – Application Exercises are Architected

Performance Based Instruction – Focuses on Performance

Help your client determine their own internal Best Practices in order to share with others in the Enterprise as appropriate.